Strange Life of a Cat

Wei Ling showed up two days after Zheng Tan met with Jiao Wei. He called Papa Jiao first to notify him before arriving at the eastern quarters. He didn’t find Zheng Tan so he honked rhythmically.

Zheng Tan was sleeping on a tree when he heard the car horn. He came to Wei Ling’s car.

However, he didn’t jump into the car like usual. Instead, he turned and walked away.

“Hey! Charcoal! Where are you going? There’s a celebrity performing at the Night Tower tonight. It’s a rare chance!” Wei Ling called out after him while following behind him in the car.

Zheng Tan lead the way out of the school and to Jiao Wei’s restaurant.

Wei Ling was curious. What was the cat up to now?

Parking was scarce around the restaurant, so Wei Ling parked the car near the gate. When he arrived at the restaurant, Zheng Tan was already waiting on a chair.

Jiao Wei’s parents were familiar with Zheng Tan and weren’t too surprised, but they were positively beaming when Wei Ling showed up. After all, he had done them a great favor. One greeted him hospitably and the other hurriedly called their son.

Jiao Wei had told his parents to call him if the cat brought Wei Ling. He reminded them if they couldn’t reach him at his dorm to give Wei Ling his number and ask him to call when he had time.

The two had thought it improper to ask for Wei Ling’s number, but their son had asked so they had to try if he wasn’t in his dorm. Thankfully, the boys were tired after spending a day in the city and were all resting in their dorm.

Jiao Wei packed his backpack and hurried to the restaurant as soon as he got the call. He was planning to head over to help out anyways but packed up some money when he heard Wei Ling was there. He had heard it was bad manners to ask for favors empty-handed. Even if Wei Ling didn’t need the money, someone else might want it.

He was doubtful of the cat yesterday, who knew it only took a day for the cat to bring Wei Ling.

Like Su Qu said, the cat was quite resourceful.

Wei Ling was still at a loss sitting in the restaurant. He was slightly bashful when facing Jiao Wei’s parents. “Please don’t mind me. You must be busy, dinner time is soon.”

Wei Ling wasn’t planning to have dinner here and only asked for a glass of water.

“So, Charcoal, what is it? Why did you bring me here?” Wei Ling asked the cat sitting next to him.

Zheng Tan ignored him. He didn’t even know why they were here.

Jiao Wei had to run to the restaurant. His dorm was a distance away and the school shuttle had too many stops. He reminded himself to buy a bike. That way he could even help when the restaurant started offering delivery.

He gulped down a glass of water and asked, “Uncle Wei, sir, can I ask you a favor?”

“Don’t call me sir. You make me feel old.” Wei Ling laughed and stood up. He guessed Jiao Wei probably couldn’t say whatever he wanted to say here.

Jiao Wei told his parents before leaving with Wei Ling.

Zheng Tan followed them. He was curious what Jiao Wei wanted.

They were a distance away from the restaurant before Jiao Wei started to talk. He explained what was happening with their restaurant and asked Wei Ling if he knew anyone that could help. He needed to know at least who to give the money in his bag.

He asked around after the incident. Apparently giving the punks money wasn’t the end of the matter. Their restaurant would still be harassed. Jiao Wei was now willing to give in. He wanted his parents to be able to run their restaurant in peace. They were newcomers, after all.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears. The matter was smaller than he had expected, but that was understandable. It was hard living as the 99%, especially as they were new in town and had no contacts.

“So that’s what happened. I wanted to ask you if you know anyone who might be able to help us, or just point us in the right direction if you could.” Jiao Wei was eyeing Wei Ling nervously. His palms were sweaty and he buried the hand not carrying his bag into his pocket.

Wei Ling shook his head, “I’m not from Chuhua either and don’t know this area. However…”

Jiao Wei was disheartened after hearing Wei Ling’s words but the ‘however’ at the end of the sentence gave him hope again.

“I can still help you though. It’s probably overkill asking me actually, but don’t worry, those people won’t bother you again. If they do, call me.”

Jiao Wei hurriedly took out his notepad to write down Wei Ling’s number.

Zheng Tan figured Wei Ling was probably going to ask either brother Walnut or Ye Hao. Having either deal with some garden variety punks would be overkill.

Wei Ling liked Jiao Wei. He had met the boy a few times in the past and felt he was a good person. He was ambitious, but that’s not a fault as long as his heart was in the right place.

“Um…Uncle Wei…” Jiao Wei didn’t know how to express what he wanted to say. He hadn’t expected Wei Ling to take over the situation like that, “Thank you, sir! Please let me buy you dinner sometime.”

Wei Ling understood what he was trying to say and shook his head, “Let’s not do the whole you stuffing me money stuff. How about this, just give me a free meal at your restaurant next time.”

“Of course! Anytime!” Jiao Wei was truly happy now the problem was solved.

“By the way, are you free today?” Wei Ling asked.

“I’m free.” Jiao Wei quickly answered. He had planned to help out at the restaurant, but he worried Wei Ling might need him for something.

“Then come with us. I’ll take you out today. You’re young, you need to have fun. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Jiao Wei informed his parents, then followed Wei Ling to his car.

“Take the passenger seat.” Wei Ling said. “The back seat is Charcoal’s. He sometimes likes to roll around. You will be despised if you sit there. He’ll see you as an obstacle.”

Jiao Wi once again felt like he was less worthy than a cat.

“Charcoal, Ye Hao’s bringing Duke today,” Wei Ling said as he drove.

The large cat? It had been a while since he saw that large cat. Apparently, he was living the high life now that he was at Ye Hao’s. Tang Qi Ye paraded him around whenever he got the chance.

Jiao Wei sat quietly in the passenger seat. He listened to Wei Ling talk to the cat. The cat never replied but Wei Ling just kept talking. He mentioned a Duke and some band called NB. Jiao Wei had no idea what either of those things was.

When they arrived at the Night Tower, Jiao Wei was completely shocked. He had passed this place with his roommates yesterday. They saw the building from the outside and talked about the day when they would be able to go inside. They heard it was a very expensive nightclub.

Jiao Wei looked at his clothes. He did not fit in at all. Then he looked at Wei Ling and felt better.

Like usual they went in through the back door. Jiao Wei followed the man and cat.

They just reached Wei Ling’s private room when Ye Hao arrived with Duke.

With his enemies gone, Ye Hao didn’t need to hide anymore. He was busier than ever. Today, by chance, he had some free time and came to have a drink with Wei Ling.

Zheng Tan looked behind him. He saw Baozi, but Long Qi wasn’t here. The man was now emotionally allergic to cats.

Unlike last time, the large cat was really looking like a duke now. No matter if he was a supercat or a CFH, he was a cat and cats were proud animals. The large cat had lived the life of a stray before, but now his fur was smooth and shiny and he looked even stronger. His spirit was high and he was looking majestic.

Duke was quite obedient when with Ye Hao. He sat down right away after entering the room. Zheng Tan, on the other hand, jumped around between the sofa, the coffee table, and the washroom.

This was Jiao Wei’s first time meeting Duke. He had never seen such a large cat. He thought it was a dog at first.

“This kid’s parents are friends of Charcoal’s family. He goes to school at Chuhua University.” Wei Ling introduced Jiao Wei to Ye Hao.

Jiao Wei noticed how he said Charcoal’s family, instead of Professor Jiao’s family.

Ye Hao nodded. The two men started chatting. None of the stuff they said needed to be kept a secret. Besides, the boy was a friend of Charcoal’s and Wei Ling had brought him here. He wouldn’t mean Ye Hao any harm.

“So, how’s your joint project going?”

Ye Hao frowned. “We can’t get a hold of Fang San. His secretary always says he’s busy and we need to make an appointment. He has a lot of appointments. We need to wait days just to see him.”

“Well, Fang San Ye is a busy man. It’s not like he’s doing this to you on purpose.” Wei Ling clinked his glass with Ye Hao.

Ye Hao glanced at the black cat, “Yeah. Fang San Ye is really busy delivering cat trees.”

Wei Ling coughed up the sip of wine he just took.

“What? Fang San Ye delivered that himself?”

“Yeah,” Ye Hao answered.

Jiao Wei was listening intently. It couldn’t be. Could it?

“Wow. No wonder they say common suffering creates strong friendships. You might need to rely on the cat someday,” Wei Ling laughed. He emphasized ‘strong friendships’.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears. He tried to forget about the common suffering he shared with Fang Shaokang. Those were days he preferred to leave behind.

Though Wei Ling sounded like he was joking, Ye Hao knew what he said was the truth. When he finally met with Fang San Ye, he planned to talk about the cat first instead of mentioning the project.

As a businessman, Fang Shaokang was unlikely to make decisions based on his friendship with a person or a cat, but this was a good ice breaker. At least he now knew what the man liked.